These bold films confront viewers and dare to offend
Movies can capture our imagination, take us to different worlds, and reveal great people, and their visionary minds. In this gallery, we'll explore the best movies about scientists ever made, which offer views into the intriguing areas of science, as well as some of the most extraordinary real-life people who have impacted our knowledge of the world.
From fiction to biopics, grab your popcorn and prepare for stories about intellectual curiosity, scientific advancements, and the quest for information. Click on!
In this drama, the accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeat concussions during a normal game.
'October Sky' depicts the true story of Homer H. Hickam Jr., a coal miner’s son who decided to pursue rocketry after the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957. He later worked for NASA.
In 'Contact,' alien intelligence transmits an image of three pages of encrypted symbols. Scientists are stumped in their attempts to connect the pages.
This biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a late 4th century mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer in Roman Egypt who challenges the heliocentric model of our solar system. In the midst of religious strife and social turbulence, Hypatia fights to preserve ancient knowledge.
In this Christopher Nolan film, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot is tasked with piloting a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans for when Earth becomes uninhabitable.
This biographical drama is about three female African-American mathematicians—Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—who worked at NASA during the Space Race. They also had to deal with racial and gender discrimination at work.
Set at the University of Cambridge, this movie looks at the relationship between the famous physicist Stephen Hawking and his first wife, Jane Wilde.
Brought to life by Ethan Hawke, the movie chronicles the life of famed inventor Nikola Tesla, and the ups and downs of inventions and business.
Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, this sci-fi film recounts an astronaut’s lone fight to survive on Mars after being abandoned, as well as NASA’s efforts to rescue him and return him to Earth.
After the death of her husband, Marie Curie's commitment to science remains strong as she tries to explain previously unknown radioactive elements. But it soon becomes evident that her work could lead to tragedy.
Starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, this movie tells the real-life story of mathematician John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics, who suffered with schizophrenia.
'The Imitation Game' recounts the famous story of the Enigma Machine developed during World War II to decrypt Nazi communications. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, the film follows the life of Alan Turing, noted for his contributions to the machines built.
The romantic drama 'Ammonite' examines the personal life and struggles of Mary Anning, a fossil collector and paleontologist in the mid-1800s.
Starring Sigourney Weaver, 'Gorillas in the Mist' tells the story of primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey, following her career change and move to Africa to study rare mountain gorillas.
Starring Liam Neeson, this biopic details Alfred Kinsey’s life as a pioneer in the field of sexology. One of the earliest known attempts to scientifically analyze and investigate human sexual behavior was his 1948 article, 'Sexual Behavior.'
Starring Claire Danes, this movie examines the life and work of Temple Grandin, a woman with autism who revolutionized the treatment of livestock. Based on her own memoirs, this film showcases the stigma of autism and women in scientific fields.
This sci-fi horror follows the story of an eccentric scientist, played by Jeff Goldblum, who slowly transforms into a fly-hybrid creature after one of his experiments goes awry.
Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller tells the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
Starring Dev Patel, this movie explores the life of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan and his life moving from poverty in Madras, India ,to Cambridge University during World War I.
This British biographical drama covers Charles Darwin’s relationship with his wife Emma and his memories of their eldest daughter, Annie, while writing 'On the Origin of Species.'
'The Road to Wellville' tells the true story of one unusual health facility, run by the eccentric Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Yes, the guy from the cereal!
Another Oppenheimer biopic! 'Fat Man and Little Boy' stars Paul Newman and Dwight Schultz as the men behind the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bombs.
This film was inspired by the real-life story of John T. Scopes, a schoolteacher who was criminally accused of presenting Darwin’s theory of evolution to his students in Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925.
'Awakenings' tells the true story of a doctor who, in 1969, discovers the beneficial effects of L-Dopa. He uses it on catatonic patients who survived the 1917–1928 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. The patients then awaken after decades of being in catatonic state, having to deal with a new time.
Starring David Bowie, this film is based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel of the same name and follows an alien who lands on Earth in search of a way to transport water to his planet. However, he finds himself at the mercy of human vices and corruption.
Directed by and starring Matthew Broderick, 'Infinity' follows the early life of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman.
This biopic focuses on the pioneering French microbiologist Louis Pasteur, who helped revolutionize agriculture and medicine.
The film follows Polish-French physicist Marie Curie as she begins to share a laboratory with her future husband, Pierre Curie, in 1890s Paris.
Based on Michael Crichton’s 1969 novel of the same name, this movie follows a group of scientists investigating a dangerous extraterrestrial organism.
Sources: (Live Science) (IMDb)
The best movies about scientists
Movies that highlight the lives and contributions of scientists
MOVIES Science
Movies can capture our imagination, take us to different worlds, and reveal great people, and their visionary minds. In this gallery, we'll explore the best movies about scientists ever made, which offer views into the intriguing areas of science, as well as some of the most extraordinary real-life people who have impacted our knowledge of the world.
From fiction to biopics, grab your popcorn and prepare for stories about intellectual curiosity, scientific advancements, and the quest for information. Click on!